The Secret and Other Stories

SIGNED BY AUTHOR, FIRST EDITION, no. 542 of 700 copies only, publishers red buckram cloth, original paper label pasted to spine, original glassine wrapper, 8vo, New York, The Fountain Press, 1929

A collection of four short stories, from the author of ‘Winnie the Pooh’. After publishing his principal four Winnie the Pooh books, Milne continued to pursue his other literary pursuits producing the stories of “The Secret and Other Stories”. Each story appeared separately in serials between 1918 and 1926. Two of the constituent stories, “Mullins” and “The Return”, have direct relevance to the Great War. Milne was prolific in his work, enjoying writing verse, play and prose which was not encouraged by his Winnie the Pooh followers. Milne wasn’t interested in returning to subjects he had already covered, especially Winnie the Pooh, as his son and key source of inspiration had grown older. His publisher, Methuen, continued to issue whatever Milne produced with approximately twenty five further works of novels, plays, political polemics and essays.